Exhibitions

The classics of the Ateneum Collection guide visitors through the davelopment of Finnish art from 19th century to the 1960s. They interlace the story of Finnish art with international developments and social events. The exhibition is compiled of the oldest and most extensive art collection in Finland.

The new basic exhibition of Kuopio Art Museum takes the visitors On a Journey with the Artist.The journey takes us from the idyllic landscapes of northern Savo depicted by Fridolf Weurlander and Ferdinand von Wright through the streets of the old town of Kuopio towards the present day. While admiring the landscapes, we can also watch the birds that the von Wright brothers, Matti Karppanen, J.Fr. Tuhkanen and other bird artists have painted with amazing accuracy.

The journey continues from local landscapes to monumental national romantic sceneries and to winter views painted by the Halonen family of artists.The journey also offers a review of symbolism and the works of the pioneers of Finnish graphic arts, Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Hugo Simberg. Approaching Europe, the easel and a palette with brighter colours are taken out into the open air, and the journey continues to the world of photography and to modern metropolis.

Next, the journey takes us through a portrait gallery which gives us intimate glimpses into the inner worlds of artists and then continues to the world of angular, dispersed shapes of cubism and to the inner feelings and emotions of expressionism in the works of November Group expressionists Tyko Sallinen, Anton Lindforss and Ilmari Aalto. The journey ends with a view into abstract expression and the politically inspired art of the 1970s.

On a Journey with the Artists also gives us a deeper insight into Juho Rissanen (1873-1950) and his art.Letters, photographs and sketches introduce us to this cosmopolitan artist, whose roots are firmly in the province of Savo.